The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in KwaZulu-Natal demanded urgent action to address the high rate of teenage pregnancy. This comes after a 15-year-old girl gave birth on New Year's Day.
"Urgent action is needed to address the high rate of teenage pregnancies. There is an urgent need for inter-departmental collaboration among the Departments of Social Development, Health, and Education in order to educate, empower and create awareness among the youth about the downsides of unplanned parenthood," it said.
The Department of Health announced on Monday that it had recorded 1803 babies delivered from public health facilities throughout the country on New Year`s Day.
"Over 100 teenagers from the age of 13 years are amongst mothers who have delivered their babies on Christmas and New Year`s during this festive period," the department revealed.
"Early last year, Stats SA revealed that more than 83 000 children gave birth countrywide during the 2019/20 financial year. KwaZulu-Natal registered 18 550 births by children aged 10 to 17 years during the same period," the IFP mentioned.
The party called for increased awareness to the public about family planning methods and abstinence. In addition, it urged men to feature more prominently when it comes to sharing the family planning responsibility.
According to the IFP, anyone who is preying on and impregnating underage girls should be arrested. "This includes any parents, guardians or caregivers who ‘sell’ their children to sugar daddies for the exchange of groceries, money, and gifts must be arrested," it added.
It stated that "reducing teenage pregnancy" should be on the national agenda. "It is disturbing to come across an adolescent girl experiencing motherhood at a time when her main concerns should be far less demanding than those of raising another human being. The sad reality is that every year, more and more teens are transitioning into motherhood prematurely," IFP said.
Furthermore, the department was concerned about the high rate of teen mothers and indicated the matter required all hands on deck from government, families and other community structures to reduce school dropout, which hinders formal education for many adolescent girls and young women, making them vulnerable to poverty.
The Health Department said teenage pregnancy and early motherhood contribute to the interruption of formal education, and girls in their adolescent stage dropout as some of them struggle to strike a balance between parenting and education due to a lack of supporting family structures.
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